Industry Issues Spotlight: Will the Utilities Continue Jurisdictional Mandates?
In 2023, PG&E and other Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), like SDGE & SoCal Edison, advanced directives requiring the use of IBEW-signatory companies and IBEW-represented workforce on various scopes of work, including traffic control and the undergrounding of power lines. These mandates not only conflict with longstanding jurisdictional lines of, for instance, the Laborers and Operating Engineers, but also the way most union contractors have run their businesses in the state of California for decades.
Throughout 2023, we heard numerous reports of contractors losing bids and even awarded contracts to IBEW signatories, contract specs mandating IBEW signatory status, and the ultimate shift of hundreds of craftspeople from the Laborers and OEs to IBEW.
In response, several pieces of legislation were filed to address these issues, but each ultimately failed to come out of committee. Additionally, a coalition of unions, including the Carpenters, Operating Engineers, and Laborers, issued letters to the leadership of various IOUs demanding clarification on the origin and intent of such policies. That same coalition is also currently engaged in negotiations with IBEW leadership across the state to find a solution that hopefully avoids an unnecessary shift of jurisdiction and manpower from one union to another. Finally, United Contractors weighed in politically and issued letters demanding public clarity on IOU jurisdictional policies and, ultimately, the abandonment of any jurisdictional mandates.
While no official public statement has been issued by PG&E on their jurisdictional policies to date, we’re hearing from various internal sources at PG&E that it will no longer require IBEW signatory status for projects advertised for bid starting in 2024. While the relaxing of the jurisdictional mandate appeared in certain PG&E districts as early as Q3 2023, other districts nevertheless appear to strongly uphold the IBEW preference on work to date.
2024 will likely see another round of legislation seeking to mitigate the jurisdictional preferences of IOUs interfering with the market reality that the work in question has been predominantly performed by Laborers and Operators for decades. We are also hopeful the trades can broker some kind of solution that sustains the jurisdiction and work prospects of the Laborers and Operators and our signatories alike. UCON will monitor, advocate, and continue to keep you apprised of any updates throughout 2024.